St. John's University Athletics
Women's Tennis
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- leol@stjohns.edu
- Phone:
- 2026
Lauren Leo, a St. John’s alumna, will enter her 10th season as the head coach of the women’s tennis team after being named the 15th head coach in program history in August 2015.
Last season, Leo led the Johnnies to 13 wins and the BIG EAST Tournament Semifinals, marking the ninth-straight time she has led the Red Storm to the final four. St. JOhn;s began the campaign 3-0 and won five consecutive matches from Apr. 10 through Apr. 20. The Johnnies picked up wins over Stony Brook, Hofstra and BIG EAST foe Villanova to end the regular season before downing 11-seeded Providence and third-seeded Georgetown in the conference tournaments. Under Leo’s watch, Mouna Bouzgarrou was named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team.
In 2023, the Red Storm made it to the BIG EAST Championship Match after going 13-9 overall and 5-2 in BIG EAST play. The Johnnies went on a five-game winning streak during the campaign and won two matches in the BIG EAST Tournament before falling to Xavier in the final. Leo helped guide Mouna Bouzgarrou, Yesica de Lucas and Lalita Devarakonda to Second Team All-BIG EAST honors.
Leo guided St. John's to one of its best seasons in program history during the 2022 campaign. The Johnnies tied an all-time record of 18 dual-match wins during a single season. Under Leo's direction, the team set records for most home wins in a single season (14) and its longest win-streak (13). After logging a 17-5 regular season record, the Red Storm earned the top seed in the BIG EAST Tournament for just the second time in program history. After a decisive quarterfinal win over Connecticut, 4-0, St. John's fell to DePaul, 4-2, in the semifinals. On May 5, it was announced that two Johnnies Mouna Bouzgarrou and Jayden Nielsen were named to All-BIG EAST selections, respectively. The honor continued Leo's streak of having at least one student-athlete named to the all-conference team during her entire tenure.
During the shortened 2021 spring season, the Red Storm concluded with a 7-2 record. The 77.8 percent win rate was the program's highest since 2004. The Johnnies won their first four contests of the year in dominant fashion, outscoring opponents a combined 26-2. Leo guided Jessica Livianu to her fourth consecutive All-BIG EAST First Team honor. In the BIG EAST tournament, the team swept UCONN 4-0, before falling to Xavier in the semi-finals 4-1.
In 2019-20, the Johnnies finished with a 7-7 record (0-1 in BIG EAST play) in a season that was cut short due to COVID-19. The Red Storm participated in several fall tournaments, including the Columbia Invite and Penn Invitational, before winning two of their first three nonconference matchups against Morgan State and Fairfield. Their season came to an abrupt end after a 4-0 victory at Bryant on March 7.
St. John's ended the 2018-19 campaign with a 13-7 overall record, marking the program's fifth-consecutive season with at least 13 wins. The Johnnies also continued its dominant play against conference opponents last spring, finishing with five victories over BIG EAST opponents for the fourth time in five years.
In 2017-18, the Red Storm turned in one of the most successful seasons in program history, capturing its first-ever BIG EAST Women's Tennis Championship and earned an automatic berth in the 2018 NCAA Women's Tennis Tournament after defeating DePaul, 4-2, in the conference title match last May. Leo's squad ended the 2017-18 campaign with a 17-6 overall record, including a 4-1 in BIG EAST play, marking the program's fourth-straight season with at least 14 wins.
In 2016-17, Leo led the Red Storm to a 18-4 finish and an appearance in the BIG EAST Championship Match where the Johnnies fell, 4-3, to DePaul. The 18 wins were the program's most wins since the 1981-82 season. Her combined 32-9 mark also gives Leo the most-wins ever by a St. John's head coach in their first two seasons. For the first time in St. John's program history, Leo helped coach freshman Jessica Livianu to the NCAA Division I Women's Singles Championship. Livianu, who was named BIG EAST Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, was joined by senior Anna Morozova in earning All-BIG EAST Team honors. Eight student-athletes were also honored with BIG EAST All-Academic Team honors.
In her very first season at the helm of her alma mater, Leo guided the Johnnies to a 14-5 finish including a third-place finish in the BIG EAST Championship tournament. Under her guidance two upperclassmen, Anna Morozova and Natallia Vavulina, earned All-BIG EAST Team selections for the second-straight year. The team also went a perfect 7-0 during their campaign, the first time St. John’s has accomplished that feat in 10 seasons. Leo also helped lead the Johnnies to a perfect 5-0 record in BIG EAST Conference play and saw two student-athletes win more than 28 matches during the regular season.
Leo is no stranger to the Red Storm women's tennis program as she played for the team from 2003-2007. During her Red Storm days, Leo posted a combined 48-29 record in both singles and doubles play. Following her successful playing career, the Staten Island, N.Y., native has continued her tennis career as a coach. Leo most recently worked as the Director of Tennis at Hofstra University from 2013-2015.
During her tenure with the Hofstra teams, Leo posted an overall mark of 27-22 with the women's team and 20-25 with the men's team. Each year the teams improved upon their records, including winning seasons for both in 2014-15. Under Leo's tutelage, five athletes earned All-Colonial Athletic Association honors and two athletes earned All-CAA Academic Team honors.
Prior to working at Hofstra, Leo served as the head coach of the men's and women's tennis teams at Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y., from 2011-2013. During her first season at the helm at Adelphi, the women's team went 17-6, shared the regular season Northeast-10 Conference championship, had six players named all-conference and earned a No. 6 seed in the 2012 NCAA Division II Tennis Championship. In 2012 she also coached Andreas Hammar to the 2012 Northeast-10 Conference Men's Tennis Player of the Year Award.
From 2010-11 Leo served as an assistant coach at Adelphi. Preceding this coaching venture, Leo was the head coach of the Hunter College women's tennis program from 2008-09, and served as USTA/Eastern National Coach from 2005-2008. Leo was also the tennis professional at The West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, N.Y., and Point Set Indoor Racket Club in Oceanside, N.Y.
Prior to Leo's playing days with the St. John's women's tennis team, she played one year for the University of San Diego and led the team in winning percentage. Leo holds a master's degree in Physical Education from Adelphi and graduated from St. John's in 2007 with a degree in Sports Management.
The Lauren Leo File
Year-By-Year Coaching Record at St. John's
Year W-L BIG EAST Finish (Regular Season)
2015-16 14-5 3rd
2016-17 18-4 2nd
2017-18 17-6 1st
2018-19 13-7 3rd
2019-20 7-7 N/A
2021 7-2 3rd
2021-22 18-6 3rd
2022-23 13-9 4th
2023-24 10-8 6th
Total 117-54 (.718)
Playing Experience
• University of San Diego (2002)
• St. John’s (2003-07)
Education and Certifications
• Education: St. John’s University, B.S. in Sport Management; Adelphi University, M.A. in Physical Education; Hofstra University M.S. in Sports Science with a concentration in strength & conditioning and exercise physiology
• Certifications: USPTA (United States Professional Tennis Association), CSCS (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist), Pn1 (Precision Nutrition), NASM-CPT (National Academy of Sports Medicine), MGCP (Mental Game Coaching Professional), USAW-1 (USA Weightlifting) CrossFit Level 1 Trainer.
